Boston Celtics small forward Jae Crowder will hit restricted free agency on July 1st this coming Summer and says he’ll test the waters to see what’s out there on the market for him. Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy reports,
“Of course you want to find out what your value might be,” Crowder said after a momentary hesitation. “Time will tell that. I’m talking to my people and others, and everything will eventually show. My worth will be revealed.”
That being said, GMs around the league may have dwindling interest in the forward out of Marquette due to a knee injury obtained in the first round of the playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the rehabbing swingman said he’d love to stay in Boston and believes the team wants him there as well. The following from Mark Murphy,
“The feeling of me coming back to Boston is mutual, from what I can tell,” Crowder said last week. “I just hope we can get something done. But I do get a good feeling from the team.”
Crowder suffered a bone bruise and though the Celts have worked out other small forwards in preparation of the upcoming draft, most noticeably Justin Anderson out of Virginia, all signs point to them retaining Crowder. Crowder is still only 24 years of age and still hasn’t hit his ceiling. Traded from the Dallas Mavericks midseason, he put up some decent stats with Boston, averaging in the double digits in scoring. Crowder’s services should be under high demand on the free agent market this summer as three and D type swingmen have become a highly coveted commodity in today’s game.
Boston has an exciting young squad whose future looks extremely bright, especially with Isaiah Thomas at point guard paired up with Brad Stevens who has become a fine head coach. The C’s wishlist this summer is topped off with a rim protecting big man. Players such as DeAndre Jordan and Tiago Splitter’s names have been thrown around the rumor mill. Locking up Crowder should be the launching pad of what will most likely be a big offseason for gang green.
